New head coach of the Super Eagles, Finidi George, has praised his players following their impressive performance in the UEFA Europa League final, Soccernet.ng reports.
The former Ajax FC forward expressed his joy at watching Ademola Lookman, Victor Boniface, and Nathan Tella play in the 2024 Europa League final held in Dublin.
Atalanta forward Lookman stole the show in his team’s 3-0 victory over Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen, scoring all three goals to end Leverkusen’s 51-match unbeaten run.
Finidi reacted to the performance, praising Lookman and also acknowledging Boniface and Tella.
“Watching Ademola Lookman, Nathan Tella, and Victor Boniface in the Europa League final was a thing of joy and national pride. Well done, guys. And what a performance that was from Lookman,” he wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) page.
Lookman had been left on the sidelines during international friendly games against Ghana and Mali by Finidi while he was serving as interim coach following the expiration of Jose Peseiro’s contract.
Some Nigerian media outlets reported that Lookman was upset about being benched and felt that Finidi, now the permanent coach of the Nigerian national team, didn’t like him.
However, with Lookman’s stellar performance in the Europa League final, he has proven to be a significant player for Finidi’s Super Eagles squad as they prepare for their World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin Republic.